Know Your Options: the Tennessee CHOICES Program and Senior Home Care

If you’re looking for senior home care, home health care, or assisted living in Chattanooga TN, then the Tennessee CHOICES Program may help cover the cost of your expenses. But like most aspects of the American health care system, understanding and penetrating the bureaucracy can be difficult, especially if you’re already stressed about aging parents.

Among Americans with aging parents, 30% say their parents need help managing their affairs. In part, that’s because two out of three Americans over 65 suffer from multiple, chronic health conditions. By 2010, seniors were already spending an average of $18,424 every year on health care, three times more than the average adult. And with the number of Americans over 65 expected to double to more than 72 million in the next 25 years, a number of programs are available to help aging Americans afford vital resources.

That’s why Tennessee residents over 21 with a physical disability and seniors over 65 have access to Tennessee’s CHOICES program. And because almost 90% of seniors want to stay in their homes, CHOICES also helps pay for senior home care. With home care, older Americans can age in place with the help of regular, non-medical companionship services.
So what kind of home care services are covered by the CHOICES program? Here’s a brief list of some of the services that are often covered under CHOICES:

• Personal Care Visits: visits of up to four hours in which seniors can receive help with bathing, getting dressed, fixing meals, and other necessities around the house.
• Minor home modifications
• In-home Respite Care: Have someone visit to relieve a full-time caregiver or family member.
• Pest Control
• Assistive Technology: helping seniors live more safely in their own home.
• Adult Day Care: Arranging supervised activities during the day.

Plus, the best Chattanooga senior home care services can provide help with scheduling appointments, picking up prescriptions, transportation, and more. Seniors with Medicaid may well be eligible for some or all of these services through a qualified home care service provider. Medicaid and the CHOICES program can help cover some or all of the costs, making life easier for seniors, adult caregivers, and everyone who loves them.